A Square Peg

When you are in the job search process, you might feel like a square peg trying to fill a round hole. That is because there is rarely a perfect match between what available positions offer – in term of the nature of the work and the rewards that come with it – and what you really, truly desire. There is a constant trade-off, back and forth on what you want and what you are willing to take.

Thus, the role of the Recruiter and/or the Hiring Manager is to discern this incompatibility, measure the degree or the extent by which you are willing to trade off, the level of your motivation to overcome the difference, and your ability to adjust and adapt to an initially imperfect “marriage”.

More importantly, the question is how quickly you can begin to re-frame to a new role, tweaking your aspirations here or there, modifying career goals, and redefining development plans. As the saying goes: “ You may not necessarily have what you want, but you can want what you get.